(PRWEB) June 6, 2006 -- FundsXpress Financial Network, Inc. (www.fundsxpress.com), the premier provider of online financial services, today announced the release of an in-depth assessment toolkit to assist client financial institutions determine the level of authentication needed to mitigate risks associated with online account activity. This comprehensive toolkit, provided at no cost to all FundsXpress clients, includes worksheets, instructions, and guides to performing the audit and implementing multifactor authentication.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) recently released guidelines requiring financial institutions to strengthen customer authentication processes for Internet banking transactions by the end of 2006. The FFIEC recommends institutions perform risk-based assessments based on type of customer, customer transactional capabilities, sensitivity of customer information, communication method, and volume of transactions. The determined level of risk will decide the appropriate level of authentication needed for the financial institution.

There are many different approaches to performing a risk assessment. The FundsXpress Multifactor Risk Assessment Toolkit, based on the suggested guidelines issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), offers customized instructions for the FundsXpress Internet banking platform. With these guidelines, client financial institutions will intensify login security beyond usernames and passwords by requiring a second factor of identity authentication to help prevent external threats.

“In order for our client financial institutions to determine what level of authentication they need to be compliant with FFIEC guidelines, they must first assess their risk level,” said Greg Constantine, executive vice president, FundsXpress. “By providing this security information to our clients, we are arming them with the tools needed to determine the type and level of authentication that is right for them; not only ensuring compliance with the new FFIEC regulations, but enabling them to offer a more advanced, secure environment for their online users.”

To assist client financial institutions, FundsXpress has determined seven critical steps in the multi-factor risk assessment process, including analyzing industry trends, the institution customer base, the sensitivity of online data, and potential threats, as well as evaluating security options, implementing FundsXpress configuration options for multi-factor authentication, and distributing a summary memorandum to the board and executive management.

“In today’s environment, it is critical for our client institutions to provide their online users with a fail-safe Internet banking solution,” said Constantine. “FundsXpress continues to develop the most innovative, robust, and secure solutions on the market. By providing our client financial institutions in-depth information and critical security analysis tools, we are going one step further to giving end users peace of mind about banking online.”

Media Contacts:                             
Jennifer Britton-Turnbow                        
FundsXpress Financial Network                   
512.493.2851
cell 512.825.2868                   

About FundsXpress Financial Network, Inc.
FundsXpress is a premier provider of Internet-based financial services and products for banks and credit unions nationwide. Through a state-of-the-art data center, the company delivers a secure, scalable and proven financial product suite. FundsXpress products include retail and commercial Internet banking, cash management, automated lending, and dynamic Web sites. FundsXpress clients benefit from the company’s value-added compliance support, customer service and leading adoption rates. For more information, please visit the company at http://www.fundsxpress.com.